Biden compares GOP economic strategy to blaming rape victims

Speaking at a fundraiser in Philadelphia on Friday, US Vice President Joe Biden compared Republican approaches on economic reform to blaming rape victims for wearing provocative skirts.

According to US Vice President Joe Biden, the Republican Party is implementing an economic strategy that is akin to blaming rape victims for displaying their bodies in scantily-clad apparel.

Speaking at a fundraiser luncheon in Philadelphia on Friday, Biden said Republicans are utilizing a "blame the victim" mentality when it comes to economic matters like collective bargaining and taxpayer legislation, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

“When a woman got raped, blame her because she was wearing a skirt too short, she looked the wrong way or she wasn’t home in time to make the dinner,” Biden said, referring to past sexual-assault defense attorney strategies.

"We've gotten by that," Biden continued. "But it's amazing how these Republicans, the right wing of this party - whose philosophy threw us into this god-awful hole we're in, gave us the tremendous deficit we've inherited - that they're now using . . . the very economic condition they have created to blame the victim, whether it's organized labor or ordinary middle-class working men and women. It's bizarre."

Biden's comparison of Republican lawmakers to rape apologists is particularly strong, given his role as the White House's chief negotiator on budget issues in Congress.

The Wall Street Journalnotes that while Biden wrote the Violence Against Women Act and that he appeared to be trying to force a similarity there, "the rhetoric was in sharp contrast to President Barack Obama’s recent speeches to Democratic donors, including Wednesday where told a room full of loyal Democrats that they need to rise above partisan divisions to work toward a common goal."

The recent controversy in Wisconsin over collective bargaining rights of public unions has further polarized Democrats and Republicans nationally. And while a Wisconsin judge has moved to block the Republican-led legislation, as the Los Angeles Timesreported on Friday, the issue still ignites emotions among a divided political spectrum across the country.

However, Biden's harsh wording appeared to be out of sync with the more inclusive strategies President Obama is seeking.

“[A]s important as our political labels are – Democrat and Republican – as many tough fights as we’re going to have, part of what made 2008 special is we brought the country together, reminding everybody that there’s a lot more that we have in common than separates us, and that the contest between Democrats and Republicans is much less important than the contest to make America what it can be,” President Obama said at a Democratic National Committee gathering in Washington, D.C., according to the Wall Street Journal. “It’s important for us not to lose that spirit that animated us early on.”